UEFA Champions League
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Played
October 24, 2012 5:00 PM BST
Stadion Petrovskij — Sankt-Peterburg (St. Petersburg)
Referee:‬ I. Bebek‎
Attendance:‬ 19500‎
 
72′ (PG) Aleksandr Kerzhakov
 

Zenit St Petersburg - Anderlecht Preview: Both sides looking to kickstart floundering Champions League campaign

Luciano Spalletti's side have lost both of their group stage matches to date, but will fancy their chances against the Belgians, who have not won in this competition since 2005

By William Shand

More On :  Anderlecht, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Zenit Saint Petersburg vs Anderlecht
Zenit celebrating
Getty Images
  PROBABLE LINEUPS
ZENIT
  Porto
Malafeev
Anyukov, Hubocan, Lombaerts, Criscito
Faizulin, Witsel, Shirokov
Bystrov, Kerzhakov, Hulk
ANDERLECHT
 
Proto
Gillet, Kouyate, Nuytinck, Deschacht
Yakovenko, Kanu, Biglia, Jovanovic
Praet, de Sutter

Zenit will be looking to claim their first win of the Champions League campaign as they face off against Anderlecht in the first of their back-to-back Group C matches.

Following their matchday two home defeat at the hands of AC Milan, the Russians will be fully aware of how pivotal three points at the expense of their Belgian challengers could prove to be.

Head coach Luciano Spalletti as a full squad at his disposal (with the exception of Danny, a long-term absentee) and will look to unleash the full wealth of attacking talent at his disposal.

Anderlecht, meanwhile, will hope to bounce back from a heavy home defeat at the hands of in-form Malaga. The Belgian champions are missing strikers Matias Suarez and Cyriac to long-term injury and it is perhaps no coincidence that they have failed to register a goal thus far.

Another striker Dieumerci Mbokani has a broken nose, while Massimo Bruno has a toe injury.

  DID YOU KNOW?

  • Zenit conceded six goals in their first two games, the joint highest total in the group stage along with Nordsjællandand and Spartak Moscow.

  • The Russian side are the only team who were not caught offside in their first two matches.

  • Aleksandr Kerzhakov is Zenit’s top scorer with 7 goals in 11 appearances in all competitions.

  • Goalkeeper Silvio Proto is the only player to have featured in all 540 minutes of Anderlecht's campaign.

  • The Belgians are eight group stage matches without a win, since Vincent Kompany earned a 1-0 victory at Real Betis on December 6 2005 to end a record run of 12 group stage defeats.

  • Milan Jovanovic spent a total of two years in the Russian Premier League, representing Lokomotiv Moscow between 2004 and 2006.

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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-0 Anderlecht
    19.85 %
  • Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-1 Anderlecht
    15.84 %
  • Zenit Saint Petersburg 3-1 Anderlecht
    10.12 %
Head to Head
UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ Nov 6, 2012 Anderlecht 1 - Zenit Saint Petersburg 0
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UEFA Champions League ‎(UCL)‎ Oct 24, 2012 Zenit Saint Petersburg 1 - Anderlecht 0
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UEFA Europa League ‎(EL)‎ Dec 1, 2010 Zenit Saint Petersburg 3 - Anderlecht 1
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UEFA Europa League ‎(EL)‎ Sep 16, 2010 Anderlecht 1 - Zenit Saint Petersburg 3
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Last Five Matches
Zenit Saint Petersburg
May 19, 2013Zenit Saint Petersburg 3 - Volga Nizhny Novgorod 1RUS1
May 12, 2013Rostov 1 - Zenit Saint Petersburg 1RUS1
May 4, 2013Zenit Saint Petersburg 4 - Alania Vladikavkaz 0RUS1
Apr 28, 2013Kuban 2 - Zenit Saint Petersburg 2RUS1
Apr 21, 2013Zenit Saint Petersburg 1 - Krasnodar 0RUS1
Anderlecht
Mar 16, 2013KAA Gent 1 - Anderlecht 1BEL1
Mar 9, 2013Anderlecht 1 - KV Mechelen 0BEL1
Feb 27, 2013Anderlecht 0 - SV Zulte-Waregem 1BEL1
Feb 24, 2013Club Brugge 2 - Anderlecht 2BEL1
Feb 15, 2013Anderlecht 2 - Royal Charleroi SC 0BEL1
Odds
Returns: Zenit £17.30 Bet365 Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200
Returns: Draw £90.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Returns: Anderlecht £510.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
16Vyacheslav MalafeevGoalkeeper
2Alexander AnyukovDefender
4Domenico CriscitoDefender
6Nicolas LombaertsDefender
14Tomás HubocanDefender
15Roman ShirokovDefender
20Viktor FaizulinMidfielder
25Sergey SemakMidfielder
28Axel WitselMidfielder
11Aleksandr KerzhakovStriker
29HulkStriker
71Egor BaburinGoalkeeper
3Bruno AlvesDefender
24Aleksandar LukovicDefender
18Konstantin ZyryanovMidfielder
34Vladimir BystrovMidfielder
9Alexander BukharovStriker
99Maxim KanunnikovStriker
1Silvio ProtoGoalkeeper
3Olivier DeschachtDefender
35Bram NuytinckDefender
16Cheikhou KouyatéDefender
27Marcin WasilewskiDefender
5Lucas Rodrigo BigliaMidfielder
26Dennis PraetMidfielder
30Guillaume GilletMidfielder
10KanuStriker
14Milan JovanovićStriker
21Tom de SutterStriker
13Thomas KaminskiGoalkeeper
8Denis OdoiDefender
20Behrang SafariDefender
-G. MolinsMidfielder
19Sacha KljestanMidfielder
70R. VargasMidfielder
17Oleksandr IakovenkoStriker
Players to Watch
Aleksandr Kerzhakov
Aleksandr Kerzhakov
Position: Striker
Squad Number: 11
Games Goals YC RC
5 1 0 0
The 29-year-old Russian has been in excellent form this season, leading the scoring charts with seven goals in nine league games. He has yet to notch a goal in the Champions League this term, but in front of a partisan home crowd he will be hoping to make his mark at the expense of Anderlecht.
Dennis Praet
Dennis Praet
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 26
Games Goals YC RC
6 1 0 0
Widely seen as the next great Belgian player, the 18-year-old was in fine form for his club over the weekend against Waasland-Beveren. A classy midfielder, Praet will be key to his side's chances of victory in Russia thanks to his ability to provide a link between midfield and attack.
Prediction
Zenit's defence has conceeded three goals in the previous two Champions League matches and it unlikely that they will be able to record a clean sheet. However, their superior firepower and home advantage should be enough to see them through in what will be a close-fought match.
Editor's Prediction
Zenit 2
Anderlecht 1
Top Scorers
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Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo
Striker
Real Madrid 		12 0
Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski
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Thomas Müller Thomas Müller
Striker
Bayern 		8 1
Lionel Messi Lionel Messi
Striker
Barcelona 		8 0
Burak Yılmaz Burak Yılmaz
Striker
Galatasaray 		8 0